John OMO, the man steering African’s telecommunications Union, breaks down to Nathan of TIC-Actualité, from Tunis on September 10, 2026. He reviews ATU’s biggest achievements under his mandate and reveals what Africa wants to lock in at the third WRC-27 preparatory meeting: better coverage. 5G and satellite for the last mile. His full interview down below.
TIC-Actualité: As your mandate ends this year, what do you consider the most significant achievements of the African Telecommunications Union under your leadership?
SG/ATU John OMO:
When I look back over eight years, I would be uncomfortable describing the record as a personal legacy. The African Telecommunications Union belongs to its Member States, and the strongest results came when governments, regulators, technical experts and partners worked together around a common African interest.
One result I value greatly is the stronger African voice in global negotiations. At the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, 95 per cent of African Common Proposals were reflected in the Conference outcome, and all six proposals that Africa advanced for future conference agenda items became part of the 2027 agenda. That means Africa did more than react to a global program; African countries helped determine part of the program now before the world.
Some of the quieter technical work has also created tangible national value. The optimisation of the 1984 frequency-modulation broadcasting plan produced 18,326 assignments that can be used without harmful interference, and the international process on satellite resources recovered planned resources affecting 31 African countries. Countries can use those assets for broadcasting, connectivity and long-term digital development.
The Union has also become more program-oriented. Our work now reaches policy and regulation, spectrum and satellites, cybersecurity, Internet Protocol version 6, digital skills, innovation, standardization and infrastructure resilience. Membership has grown to 52 Member States, and the Africa Innovation Challenge has given young innovators and academic institutions a continental route into policy, training and industry partnerships.
What matters most to me is that the Union enters its next cycle with stronger technical programs, wider institutional participation and a deeper habit of African countries preparing together before they negotiate globally.
TIC-Actualité: What are the key priorities you expect the Third African Preparatory Meeting for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 in Tunis to accomplish, especially in harmonizing African positions?
John OMO:
Tunis has a very specific job: to turn the preliminary positions developed since Maseru in 2024 and Nairobi in 2025 into positions that African administrations can defend together at the next global preparatory stage. Seven expert groups have worked since Nairobi, so the meeting is not starting from zero; it is testing, refining and consolidating work already on the table.
The technical choices are consequential. Studies on possible additional spectrum for future mobile broadband in the 4.4 to 4.8, 7.125 to 8.4 and 14.8 to 15.35 gigahertz ranges have to balance future capacity with the protection of services already using those frequencies. Satellite questions are equally important, particularly direct connectivity between satellites and ordinary mobile devices, new non-geostationary satellite systems, and fair access to spectrum and orbital resources.
Those questions do not affect every country in the same way. A landlocked country facing expensive rural last-mile connectivity will read satellite and mobile coverage questions differently from a market with dense terrestrial infrastructure. A common African position therefore has to respect legitimate national circumstances and still identify the interests that the continent can defend collectively.
Tunis also needs to settle differences early enough for Africa’s input to influence the second Conference Preparatory Meeting in Geneva in April 2027. Positions that remain unresolved until the final global conference are much harder to negotiate from strength.
TIC-Actualité: What are the main challenges Africa faces in preparing for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027, and how do you envision overcoming them during the Tunis meeting?
John OMO:
The first difficulty comes from the diversity of Africa itself. Countries have different coverage levels, market structures, satellite dependence, broadcasting needs, geography and investment conditions, so disagreement on some agenda items is normal. The work in Tunis is to distinguish legitimate national interests from areas where the shared continental interest is larger.
A second pressure point is the quality of evidence available to delegations. Decisions on interference, spectrum sharing, satellite authorisation or future mobile bands cannot rest on slogans. Administrations need engineers, regulators, economists and the services that depend on spectrum, such as meteorology, aviation, broadcasting and public protection, to bring credible data into the process early.
Technology is also moving faster than the conference cycle. Direct satellite connectivity to mobile devices, large non-geostationary constellations and future sixth-generation mobile systems are developing as regulators are still studying the rules that should govern coexistence, licensing and long-term access. Africa therefore needs technical capacity that continues between meetings rather than appearing only when a conference is close.
These are matters that call for serious compromise, which also requires each administration to separate the interests it must protect from points that can reasonably be adjusted so the region can negotiate with greater weight
TIC-Actualité: How will the outcomes of the Tunis preparatory meeting provide continuity and a strong foundation for your successor to carry Africa’s agenda forward at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027?
John OMO:
For me, continuity has to be institutional and should never be personal, because this process belongs to Member States, the expert groups and the African Telecommunications Union as an institution. The positions refined in Tunis will move directly into Africa’s input to the second Conference Preparatory Meeting in April 2027 and then into the development of African Common Proposals for the global conference.
The handover also has a strong technical foundation. Engineer Kezias Kazuba Mwale, who assumes office as Secretary General in January 2027, has led the Union’s radiocommunications work since 2012. He therefore knows the agenda, the working groups, the Member State positions and the institutional history behind the negotiations.
My responsibility during the remaining months is to leave the work in order: the agreed positions, outstanding technical questions, partnerships and working arrangements.
Importantly also, Member States themselves remain the source of continuity. The new Administrative Council elected in Abuja will guide the next institutional cycle, and Burundi is among the 25 countries elected to serve, representing Central Africa together with Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The handover I want to leave is a process that continues without needing to be rebuilt.
TIC-Actualité: Beyond the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027, what long-term vision do you hope Africa will pursue in spectrum management, satellite connectivity and emerging technologies?
John OMO:
Africa should manage spectrum as a development resource whose value is measured by what it makes possible for people and economies. That means long-term national spectrum roadmaps, better data on actual use, stronger cross-border coordination and regional harmonization where common bands can reduce equipment costs and give investors greater predictability.
Satellite connectivity should be treated as part of a wider network with the appreciation that it cannot be a separate answer to every coverage problem. A continent with Africa’s geography needs fibre, mobile networks, community solutions and satellite systems to complement one another, particularly for remote communities, emergency resilience and places where terrestrial deployment remains uneconomic.
Fair access to orbital and spectrum resources also requires African countries to build the technical capacity to file, coordinate, license, monitor and protect those resources. Rights recorded in international instruments have little value if a country lacks the expertise or institutional capability to exercise them.
Emerging technologies should find Africa participating early in research, standards and regulatory design. Future mobile systems, artificial intelligence in networks and new satellite architectures will affect investment and service delivery, and African experts should be helping write the technical rules. We should not simply join the conversation after those rules are settled.
The long-term measure remains meaningful use. Connectivity earns its value when people can turn it into learning, work, trade, public services and real participation in the digital economy.